Monthly Archives: December 2013

The promise of fabulous lights, a hayride, and a quaint Texas “village” are what drew my sister and I to visit Santa’s Wonderland in College Station this past weekend. Not sure if Justus was just as drawn to the festivities, or if he just acquiesced to accompanying us, but the three of us nonetheless trotted off on this adventure!

Everything was just too cute. There was a wine tasting room that I thought, “Hannah and I would have so much fun here!” Of course, I wanted to buy just about every Christmas decoration the place contained. At Katherine’s insistence, we waited for an hour, while our toes were about to freeze off, to watch the Aggie Wranglers perform. But the awesomeness (made-up word, I know) of the evening came during the hayride.

Twenty five people loaded into a trailer packed with hay. Along the trail, Santa’s Wonderland had every Christmas scene imaginable depicted through gorgeous lights. Elves, country families, snowmen, Rudolph, Santa. Everything you could imagine. Sweet Christmas music accompanied us the entire way. After a little while, I thought, “I bet they don’t have a nativity scene here. Probably too commercial for that.” Later, I found out that Justus had been thinking the same thing.

And then the truck pulling us slowed down. The second to last scene was a nativity scene, complete with candles burning in windows at the top of the stable to depict the inn. A moving Vince Gill Christmas song began to play. Cameras came out and pictures snapped. I thought to myself, “Way to go, Santa’s Wonderland.”

And then we came to the last scene. This time, the truck stopped. This last scene was the three crosses on Mount Calvary, with the middle cross adorned in purple. Next to the crosses stood Jesus’s tomb with the stone rolled away. Everyone fell silent. Vince Gill’s song of adoration was the only sound. Twenty-five strangers shared a moment of being reminded why some of us celebrate Christmas. We celebrate a birth because it leads to the cross. And the cross to life.

I was so encouraged to see that in its commercial venture, the people behind Santa’s Wonderland didn’t shy away from sharing with its customers their reason for celebrating this particular season. In a culture where commercial activities are pressured – in the mask of potential profits – to remove all semblance of religion, Santa’s Wonderland didn’t succumb. Santa’s Wonderland chose to share the Gospel with those who choose to visit. Merry Christmas.

…and we’re back. A certain slate of classes at our beloved Baylor Law, commonly referred to as Practice Court, has quite literally eaten up my existence these past 10-12 weeks. Finals are over, sleep is more, and I once again have the chance to write!

In response to a previous post about scholarships for pregnant and parenting students, an educated, “abortion-access-is-a-right” acquaintance of mine privately expressed her approval of such scholarships. The acquaintance commented, “Now, THAT’S more of what we need.” While confident the comment was a good-faith attempt at building discourse, her comment nonetheless disappointed me. Why? Because it made me realize she really has no idea what the Texas pro-life community is all about.

Pro-life people are DAILY helping women and families across the country overcome the practical implications surrounding an unplanned pregnancy. They just help quietly.

There’s a constant tug of war, both on individual and aggregate levels, between humility and the desire to combat the myths of what a normal “pro-life” person actually does. A good segment of the pro-life community engages in helping families in need as a reflection of Christ’s love. We help others because that is how we are called to live out our faith, and we are instructed to be humble while doing it. Undoubtedly, this humility aspect impacts the level of information generated on the multitude of loving works precipitated by pro-life Americans.

And of course, a major factor in lack of coverage is that mainstream media isn’t going to actually report anything awesome coming from a group identified as “pro-life.”

But here, in my little corner of the world, I’M going to start talking all about the amazing things pro-lifers whom I know are doing within their own communities. I know I’ve got a few Facebook friends and Twitter followers who disagree with me, so maybe this ongoing project will bear some fruit 😉

Such remarkable outpourings of pure love are directly attributable to people who diligently give to strangers. The pro-life lawyers and doctors who give financially to scholarships at A&M and SFA. The retired teachers who sacrifice to give to young families. The businesses run by pro-life people who donate plates and napkins, cokes and bread for scholarship fundraisers. It’s the college students who give of their time to organize 5ks and BBQ dinners to raise money. The college students who hold community baby showers outside Walmart. The ladies who pick up a package of diapers every time they go to the grocery store, so that new mom who calls the local pregnancy resource center can get the supplies she needs. The many, many (x1000) families who adopt. The many families who open their homes to a pregnant teenager in their community. I once met an elderly woman in East Texas who still crocheted tons of blankets each year just to give to expecting moms.